Apple's stock has had a bumpy ride this year, but it has seen significant gains lately, reaching record highs. In doing so, Apple stands out among the 'Magnificent Seven,' where the other six members — Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla — are all still below their all-time highs.
Apple's roughly 16.5% year-to-date gain is the best of the bunch. So, what makes Apple the outlier? The simple answer is that Wall Street is finally rewarding Apple for its low-cost approach to the artificial intelligence race.
Despite being late to the AI party, Apple secured a crucial partnership with Google, reportedly paying $1 billion a year for Gemini models and cloud technology.
Ultimately, Apple can leverage its iPhones to offer AI capabilities, giving it a competitive edge.
Thus, Apple continues to maintain financial health, with its stock at a high level.
